STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI Re: Petition of Qwest Corporation for Forbearance Under 47 U.S.C. § 160(c) in the Phoenix, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area, WC Docket No. 09-135, Memorandum Opinion and Order Healthy, competitive markets are good for investment, good for jobs, and good for consumers. The Commission today unanimously agrees that Qwest has not demonstrated that the pro-competitive policy status quo should change for telecommunications markets in Phoenix, Arizona. This outcome is consistent with the agency’s denial of similar petitions in 2007 and 2008. To increase predictability for the telecommunications industry, today’s Order provides a clear, data-driven, and economically sound analytic framework for evaluating future petitions of this type. Communications markets are dynamic, and cable companies, mobile phone providers, and others are increasingly serving consumers and businesses that previously had only one option for phone service. We must take account of these developments and use a forward-looking approach to evaluating competition in deciding whether incumbents have met the analytic test the Order spells out, in order to ensure that we grant relief where appropriate. Accordingly, today the Wireline Competition Bureau is releasing a Public Notice seeking comment on applying this test to similar petitions before the Commission, consistent with our efforts to facilitate openness and participation in Commission proceedings. I thank the staff, particularly the staff of the Wireline Competition Bureau, for their hard work on this item.